Young Hoops Team Out To Prove Last Year No Fluke

Showtime has not yet arrived at Western Maryland College, but the men's basketball team may bear an occasional resemblance to the Los Angeles Lakers in their glory days.

The Green Terrors, who improved from 5-19 to 12-12 last year in Coach Nick Zoulias' first season (leaving aside his one-year interim coach stint in the late 1980s while Alex Ober was on sabbatical), hope to use better speed and quickness toincrease the tempo of their games and find even more success this season.

The Green Terrors were a bit of a surprise last season.

After a poor year, they bounced back strong, accomplishing several of Zoulias' goals and even staying in playoff contention for a while before fading in the stretch.

Last year, though, Western Maryland kept theplace slow.

Speed was not something the Green Terrors had in abundance. Fast breaks or games that saw lots of running were the exception rather than the rule.

This year should be much different.

Zoulias said the Green Terrors, who open their season against Gallaudetin their Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night, have much more speed and quickness on the roster.

The Green Terrors will also use the newfound speed in other ways, most notably on defense.

The team plansto use quickness to apply more heat on defense to help force steals and key the transition game.